Where it falls short is cost of living (D) — at the median price, a 70 m² home costs 9.9 times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality. Taken together, its subjects give Pernes-les-Fontaines a C− overall, better than 24% of compared French towns. The ranking puts it #20 of 38 in Vaucluse. Its best grade is for safety: an average of 4.4 recorded violent incidents and 13.2 recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Figures: recorded crime, SSMSI (Ministry of the Interior) · prices, DVF · income per consumption unit (an income adjusted for household size), INSEE Filosofi.
Hazard risk isn’t graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas. The overall grade uses the other six subjects.
Each subject compares Pernes-les-Fontaines with other French towns of 2,500 or more, ordered by how far its rank is from the middle. American and UK towns are graded separately.
Hazard riskNot graded in France yet: national flood maps cover only some areas–
How TownRatings grades French towns →
Croix couverte ou croix de Boët · Classé · Photo: Véronique PAGNIER · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pernes-les-Fontaines’ story
Pernes-les-Fontaines in pictures
On the Culture ministry’s list, Pernes-les-Fontaines counts 26 historic monuments: 8 classé at the top level of protection and 18 inscrit at the second.
That’s 25 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 97% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5.
The oldest protected part dates from the 12th century, and the first monument here was protected in 1840, on France’s very first list.
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pernes-les-Fontaines.
History
Pernes-les-Fontaines is rich in protected monuments: 25 per 10,000 residents, more than Vaucluse’s towns or compared French towns
France has no History Grade yet: this card describes, it doesn’t grade.
Among the classé monuments in Pernes-les-Fontaines is Porte Saint-Gilles. On the Culture ministry’s list, Pernes-les-Fontaines counts 26 historic monuments: 8 classé at the top level of protection and 18 inscrit at the second. Protection here reaches back to the 12th century. 13% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Vaucluse’s towns (11%) and compared French towns (7.4%).
Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée (Licence Ouverte 2.0) · INSEE, census 2023, homes by build period
HousingCost of living D
Buying in Pernes-les-Fontaines costs more than in Vaucluse’s towns or across compared French towns: the median sale is €3,457/m²
Rents are the ministry’s estimates of advertised rents, not rents actually paid.
Houses in Pernes-les-Fontaines sell for €3,591/m² and apartments for €2,805/m². A house rents for an estimated €11.57/m² a month. The market locally: 275 sales of houses and apartments between July 2023 and June 2026.
€3,457/m²median sale price
Median sale price per m² · Jul 2023 to Jun 2026
Pernes-les-Fontaines€3,457/m²
Median of towns€2,430/m²
Vaucluse median€2,616/m²
By type
Median per m²
Sales
Houses
€3,591/m²
237
Apartments
€2,805/m²
38
€12.77/m²
estimated advertised apartment rent a month, charges included (€10.16 to €16.05/m² a month)
9.9
times the median annual income per consumption unit in the intercommunality, for 70 m² at the median price
€11.57/m²
estimated advertised house rent a month, charges included
€24,490
median annual income per consumption unit, Communauté d'agglomération des Sorgues du Comtat
Ministry of Education (DEPP) · brevet and bac 2025, value added (IVAC, IVAL) · Licence Ouverte
Safety
Less crime per resident in Pernes-les-Fontaines than in 69% of compared French towns
Police and gendarmerie figures for Pernes-les-Fontaines show 183 offenses in 2025. More of the graded crimes locally were burglary than anything else (2025).
4.4recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a yearB+Safety Grade
Recorded by type · 2025
Burglary56
Criminal damage52
Family violence29
Other physical violence22
Vehicle theft16
Theft from vehicles8
Fraud70
Drug use49
Theft without violence48
Not in the gradeTheft without violence, drug use and fraud are shown for information but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence plus burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and criminal damage per resident.
4.4
recorded violent incidents per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
13.2
recorded burglaries, vehicle thefts, thefts from vehicles and acts of criminal damage per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025 average
183
offenses recorded in the graded categories in 2025
1.3%
of the index rests on the département’s average, used where small counts aren’t published
Source: SSMSI (Interior Ministry), recorded crime by commune, 2023–2025 · Licence Ouverte · For sexual violence and armed robbery, this figure isn’t published when it’s small (five or fewer in at least one of the last three years); the index uses the département’s average instead, 1.3% of the index here. The count covers the offense categories the Safety Grade uses.
HealthHealth C+
Pernes-les-Fontaines’ death rate, adjusted for age and care homes, is higher than in 63% of compared French towns
Care access and life expectancy are shown for context, not graded.
For a family doctor, residents of Pernes-les-Fontaines can choose among 12 GPs. Adjusted for age and care homes, Pernes-les-Fontaines records 93 deaths per 100 expected, near Vaucluse’s towns (91) and higher than compared French towns (88). 941 deaths locally between 2016 and 2025, where France’s rates at each age predict 1,014: 7% below. At birth, a girl in Vaucluse can expect 85.7 years and a boy 80.3 (2025); across France, 85.9 and 80.3.
−7%deaths against expected, after care homesC+Health Grade
Deaths per 100 expected · 2016–2025
Raw93
Adjusted93
Median town88
Expected100
12
GPs in Pernes-les-Fontaines · 2.8 GP consultations a year per resident within reach (APL)
3.6 mi
to the nearest emergency department, Centre hospitalier de Carpentras
3.5 mi
to the nearest maternity unit, Centre hospitalier de Carpentras
85.7 · 80.3
years of life expectancy at birth, women · men, Vaucluse, 2025 (provisional) · France 85.9 · 80.3
Unemployment in Pernes-les-Fontaines, 8.9%, runs below Vaucluse’s towns and compared French towns
At the census, 6.7% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Vaucluse’s towns (8.0%) and compared French towns (13.4%). Per resident in work, Pernes-les-Fontaines counts 0.7 jobs (2,950 jobs, 4,450 workers). Households’ median disposable income: €27,370 a year per consumption unit.
7%walk, cycle or take transit
How working residents got to work · census 2023
Driving88%
On foot3%
Bicycle2%
Public transport2%
Motorbike or scooter1%
2,950
jobs based in Pernes-les-Fontaines, 0.7 per working resident
8.9%
unemployment rate, ages 15 to 64 in the labor force · median of compared French towns 10.1%
€27,370
median annual income per consumption unit, 2023 · median of compared French towns €25,970
5%
worked without traveling (at or from home)
C+
Walkability: better than 39% of compared French towns
Source: INSEE, census 2023 (commuting, employment, jobs at place of work); INSEE, Filosofi 2023 · Licence Ouverte
Who lives here
Few people in Pernes-les-Fontaines are 15 to 24: 8%, fewer than in Vaucluse’s towns and compared French towns
A quarter of residents are 65 or over, higher than both Vaucluse’s towns (23%) and compared French towns (22%). Graduates make up just over a third of adults. Pernes-les-Fontaines has a median age of 48.8 years.
48.8median age
Pernes-les-FontainesVaucluse medianFrance median
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Highest diploma · residents 15 and older who have left education
No diploma18%
CAP or BEP24%
Baccalauréat19%
Higher education35%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenFrance medianMen
About 91 men for every 100 women. Median share of women: Vaucluse 51.9%, France 51.8%.
On the Culture ministry’s list, Pernes-les-Fontaines counts 26 historic monuments: 8 classé at the top level of protection and 18 inscrit at the second.
Porte Saint-Gilles: Photo: Véronique PAGNIER · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Ancien hôtel de Cheylus ou immeuble Valette: Photo: Véronique PAGNIER · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Hôtel de ville, ancien hôtel de Brancas-Cheilus: Photo: Vi..Cult... · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Église Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth: Photo: EmDee · CC BY-SA 3.0
Famous people from Pernes-les-Fontaines
6 notable people were born in Pernes-les-Fontaines.
Jean Ragnotti: Aurélien Vialatte, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Charles Giraud: Pierre Petit, Public domain · François-Antoine Pomey: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain · Louis Giraud: Marianne Casamance, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pernes-les-Fontaines’ neighbors
The nearest towns of 2,500 or more. The map uses IGN’s commune boundaries. See them on the map →
People: INSEE, census 2023. Miles: center to center.
Questions about Pernes-les-Fontaines
Is Pernes-les-Fontaines safe?
It grades B+ for safety, #15 of 38 in Vaucluse. In 2025 police and gendarmerie recorded 56 burglaries and 52 acts of criminal damage.
Are schools in Pernes-les-Fontaines good?
They grade C−, better than 22% of compared French towns and #24 of 36 in Vaucluse. Primary schools aren’t graded: France doesn’t publish their results by school.
Is Pernes-les-Fontaines expensive to live in?
Estimated advertised apartment rents are €12.77/m² a month, charges included. Incomes are higher than in most compared French towns, so Pernes-les-Fontaines grades D for cost of living.
About Pernes-les-Fontaines
Commune in Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Pernes-les-Fontaines is a commune of 10,504 people in the Communauté d'agglomération des Sorgues du Comtat. TownRatings compares communes, France’s local unit: each has its own mayor and its own statistics. Its area takes in the town and the countryside around it.
Built from INSEE’s 2026 official geography (COG) and IGN Admin Express boundaries
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.
